Richard Edwards isn't having fun yet.
But that's OK with the singer-songwriter whose Indianapolis-based rock band is on the brink of something big.

The eight members of Margot & the Nuclear So and So's are touring the country to promote "The Dust of Retreat," an album scheduled for release Tuesday through Artemis Records. Radio stations WRZX-FM (103.3) and WTTS-FM (92.3) are playing the band's music, and recent months have featured high-profile appearances at the Sundance film festival and South By Southwest music festival.

Edwards has conflicted feelings about feeling good, as heard in the song "Quiet as a Mouse": "When I awoke, I was alive in somebody's room. I felt life and love and hope infesting my bones."

While there's optimism in these lyrics, they grab a listener's attention because of the word "infesting" and its negative connotation.

"That's how I see those things," Edwards says. "Once something infests your bones, you're conceding to something. When we started this band, I was really content. Then I wasn't -- which helps. I don't think happiness in all facets of your life should be strived for when you're 22 years old."

Misery is a connecting thread of "The Dust of Retreat." Edwards sings about poisonous kisses, lack of loyalty, love as an inkless pen and birds that have flown. He objects, however, to being characterized as a lovesick innocent.

"People have written, 'He's so sad, and it's mainly about girls,' " says Edwards, an Indianapolis native who was home-schooled from first grade through high school.

"There's nothing less interesting to me than girls or relationships. I use marriage as an analogy a lot, I guess, because it's a good way to frame a lot of things. But I'm not some kid who's crying in his beer. I've probably been upset about two girls in my entire life. I think that's pretty good."

There's a lighter side to Edwards, who sings the word "meow" 72 times in the song "Paper Kitten Nightmare." He's a fan of TV comedies "Arrested Development" and "Reno! 911," and he named the band -- which features no member named Margot -- partly for Gwyneth Paltrow's character in the quirky film "The Royal Tenenbaums."

So what brings him down?

He suffers upper respiratory problems (which developed into pneumonia earlier this year), he fixates on a long-distance romance with New York City and, all things being equal, he'd rather be napping.

Edwards says he enjoys writing and recording music, but he's less fond of performing live. The former Indiana University film student also has a gift for placing unexpected but just-right sounds in his songs. And that's how he became the leader of an eight-member folk/rock/chamber-pop band. In addition to Edwards on guitar, the lineup includes Andy Fry on guitar, Chris Fry on drums, Emily Watkins on vocals and keyboards, Jesse Lee on cello, Tyler Watkins on bass, Hubert Glover on trumpet and Casey Tennis on percussion.

"All I ever want to do is ditch people, because we have too many," Edwards says. "But then you think about who you'd ditch, and I can't imagine who it would be."

'A happy energy'
The last player to join the Margot family is the one who brought the party. During live performances, percussionist Tennis stands next to an illuminated bass drum near the back of the stage. He uses mallets and sticks to make bold gestures and strike any number of surfaces.

"There wasn't a happy energy before Casey was in the band," says bass player Tyler Watkins, who also served as recording engineer for "The Dust of Retreat." "He made it a totally different experience."

Tennis, who plays drums in another Indianapolis band, Pravada, says it's his job to make it OK for everybody else to have fun.

"In a way, I battle my stage fright by going overboard. And I really like the music. This is what I would be doing in the crowd if I had a couple of drinks in me."

Few rock bands have a section known as "the orchestra pit," but that's a nickname attached to cello player Lee, trumpet player Glover and keyboard player Emily Watkins (who's not related to Tyler). Instead of being known for delicate contributions, the trio has helped the band establish a reputation for dynamic performances. "People are surprised by the rocking, but also that it's not raucous or too noisy with eight people onstage," Glover says.

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's will play a homecoming show April 13 at the Vogue, 6259 N. College Ave.

Pristine sound mixes have been a challenge during the band's 15 months of live shows. Steady touring has led to better equipment, bigger stages and improved sound engineers in clubs the group plays.

"It just takes attention to detail," Emily Watkins says. "Know when the moments are to play. Don't always push your own instrument."

A band with options
Andy Fry, former singer in local band the Academy, echoes Watkins' thoughts on being aware of where various instruments fit.

"I always try to avoid doing what you would normally do as a guitar player," Fry says. "I'm always thinking, 'Guitars are stupid. There shouldn't be guitar here.' I have to prove it otherwise to myself."

The band signed with independent Artemis Records, which has been home to Steve Earle and Warren Zevon, in November. The deal includes the release of "The Dust of Retreat" -- issued in a different form last year by Indiana-based Standard Recording Co. -- and a second album. Because the band's roster was assembled during the making of the first album, Fry says the musicians are especially eager to record the follow-up.

"I think we know what a lot of the arrangement options are now, and we can play around with that," he says. "I think we can dive deeper into being interesting."

WTTS-FM (92.3) program director Brad Holtz says listeners have responded positively to the band's organic approach.

"In the age of a lot of fluff and 'American Idol'-esque music, this is a refreshing band," Holtz says. "I like the big nature of the band. The more you bring into something, the cooler it can sound sometimes."

Many of Margot's sonic elements come together on "Quiet as a Mouse." The song is a musical thrill ride with segments devoted to brash electric guitar, moody strings and playful horn.

It's the larger-than-life guitar chords that could nudge the tune into the mainstream.

"The song is kind of its own thing," says drummer Chris Fry, younger brother of Andy. "I think it fits on the record. But if that's all you heard, you might have a different impression of our band."

A complicated guy.
At the core, Edwards stands as a folk singer. Observers have listed fashionable Canadian groups the Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene as reference points for the Margot sound. The most accurate parallel might be to align Margot & the Nuclear So and So's with Nebraska-based Bright Eyes, led by poetic/political songwriter Conor Oberst.

Edwards pays allegiance to longtime hero Bob Dylan in the lyrics of "Paper Kitten Nightmare": "My glass-eyed pet is purring about 'Blonde on Blonde.' " Brady Brock, vice president of publicity at New York-based Artemis, uses the terms "honest" and "accurate" to describe Edwards' writing in tunes such as "Vampires in Blue Dresses" and "Talking in Code." "I look at Richard as a classic songwriter, someone whose words are going to survive for a long, long time," Brock says. "He's extremely sensitive lyrically, and he really understands the core of the human condition. But he's also not afraid of being abrasive and direct and utterly unforgiving." When asked to describe Edwards, band mates address various personality traits.

One says Edwards always watches movies, listens to music and writes in his journal. Another says he's aloof, yet observent. He's also a fan of tuna and black olives. "He's incredibly intelligent, but acts like a middle-school boy," someone reports.

When speaking for himself, Edwards doesn't shy away from discussing alcohol and recreational drugs -- a prevalent theme of "The Dust of Retreat."

"The most important thing for me is to make more records," he says. "I don't know if it would be the worst thing in the world if I self-destructed. But it would be pretty bad if it happened after one record."
04.26.06